Suns, 76ers see benefits European tour
(AP)
Updated: 2006-10-10 08:57 "There is no reason for anybody to play harder than us," Iverson said. "But
these guys have a lot of pride and when they come out against an NBA team they
want to show they can play. The international game is getting so much better."
The 76ers were not the only NBA team to lose in Europe this preseason: CSKA
Moscow defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 94-75. The Suns beat Virtus Lottomatica
Roma 100-93, and the San Antonio Spurs won a pair of games in France.
D'Antoni, who played and coached in Italy for years, thinks it would be
different if the NBA teams came to Europe later in the season.
"The NBA is still the best league. Come back here in December ... But that's
not taking anything away from basketball here," he said. "European basketball is
really good. But there's a big difference in the calls. You can kill people in
Europe. You cannot touch people in America."
CSKA Moscow, the reigning Euroleague champion, is also in Cologne and will
play Maccabi Tel Aviv in the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader.
The winners and the losers play each other in another doubleheader Wednesday,
guaranteeing two more European-NBA showdowns.
Maccabi has been responsible for four of the seven games NBA teams have lost
in international exhibitions since 1978.
The Spurs beat Maccabi 97-84 Sunday in Paris, however.
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